The present invention relates to article conveying and sorting systems, and more particularly, to a system and process for automatically singularizing bulked articles prior to conveying and sorting the articles according to a physical characteristic of the articles being conveyed, and grouping a number of articles together based on a physical characteristic of each article such that the sum of the physical characteristics of the articles of a group be greater than a predetermined minimum value and do not exceed a predetermined maximum value.
In our modern society, it has become a problem of how to dispose of discarded articles of manufacture in an efficient manner.
For example, a problem exists in disposing of billions of discarded motor vehicle tires. One way is to burn or incinerate the tires. Tires have a substantial energy content when incinerated. Therefore, it is economical to utilize the energy to generate usable power while at the same time disposing of these discarded tires. However, for safe and efficient operation of the incinerator, the incinerator must be charged with a predetermined controlled amount of fuel, in this case discarded tires. If the fuel charge is too great or too small, or contains foreign matter or debris, the efficiency of the incinerator is adversely affected and the incinerator could be damaged.
Thus, it is important that a constant supply of fuel, specifically discarded tires, be supplied to the incinerator in predetermined numbers and or weights making up a incinerator fuel charge within a range for efficient operation of the incinerator.